Following Andrei Komarov from ChTPZ Group and Igor Altushkin from the Russian Copper Company, it was the turn of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant to donate money to the charter capital of the Urals Highway Partnership. The project foresees the construction of a high-speed road Chelyabinsk-Yekaterinburg for 366 billion rubles by 2025.

PJSC MMK joined the construction of a high-speed railway (Chelyabinsk-Yekaterinburg). The combine invested 10 million rubles in the charter capital of the partnership "Ural Expressway". The funds will be used for design and survey work. Further plans to participate in the construction of the highway in MMK are not commented, regional authorities note that the company will be able to meet the project's needs in metal and rolled metal products. Experts believe that investing in the capital of the SCM is a kind of advance payment for further supplies of metal for the construction of the railway, as well as a political gesture for building relationships with the regional authorities.

The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works was among the participants in the economic partnership "Ural Highway". It became the fourth commercial structure of the founders of the project. To date, there are six participants in the partnership: in addition to MMK, these are the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, RVM-Capital (Moscow), the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and the Russian Copper Company. The strategic partner of the project is OAO Russian Railways. In June last year, the partnership also signed an agreement with the Chinese China Railway Group Limited, according to which cooperation will be conducted in a number of areas - among them the choice of the necessary infrastructure, development of risk management mechanisms and operational issues after construction, and the possibility of providing financing for the project.

The press service of MMK confirmed that the plant was included in the membership of the economic partnership. The contribution to the authorized capital was 10 million rubles. These funds will be used for design and survey work. Comment on further plans for participation in the partnership in the press service of MMK refused. "All further decisions will be made by the company depending on the results of the work carried out," the official report says.

At the hardware meeting, the vice-governor of the Chelyabinsk region, Ruslan Gattarov, stressed that the construction of a high-speed highway provides for a high degree of localization of production of materials and equipment in the territory of the Urals Federal District. The Deputy Governor noted that MMK can provide the project's needs in metal and metal products. At the same time, Sergey Brevnov, the general director of the Ural Expressway economic partnership, noted earlier that the enterprises of the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions are not ready to participate in the construction of the Ural high-speed highway today due to lack of necessary competencies. Mr. Brevnov noted that, according to calculations, about 80% of materials and equipment can be supplied from Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. However, the quality of products does not always meet the requirements of building a highway.

Director of the consulting company "Camp" Yakov Gurevich believes that MMK took part in the project, expecting to receive preferences for the supply of metal for construction. "MMK, like any other plant, will not give up the opportunity to supply its products, if someone is ready to buy it. Mechel, ChTPZ, RMK, MMK - they all count on the fact that they will be able to sell their products in this way, "the expert believes. In addition, according to Mr. Gurevich, participation in the strategic federal project by MMK is a work to improve relations with the regional authorities. "They asked me to give money. 10 million - small money. The plant can afford to render such charitable assistance to the governor, "Yakov Gurevich said.

The construction of the highway Chelyabinsk-Yekaterinburg with the length of 220 km is planned for 2021-2024. According to the decree of the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the inclusion of the BCM project in the transport strategy of Russia until 2030, its value is 365.9 billion rubles. In the future, it is planned that the highway will become part of the Eurasia Eurasian Air Forces, which connects Berlin, Moscow and Beijing.

Until September 30, the negotiations between the partnership "Ural Expressway" and the Ministry of Transport of Russia on the terms of the concession agreement should be completed. The partnership offers a scheme in which 50% of the funding will be federal funds (the state's capital grant), the other half - private investment, of which about 20% - investments in capital, and the rest - loan financing. The term of the concession agreement is 32 years. The perimeter of the concession includes the creation of a new two-track high-speed railway and infrastructure. In particular, it is planned to create four intermediate stations and station complexes (Chelyabinsk, Snezhinsk, Sysert and Koltsovo airport), as well as a depot for high-speed rolling stock.